Former players recall when Pasadena opposed Japan in special series

Cody Corbell stands on second base during Game 1 of Pasadena's series with the Hadano, Japan ballplayers.

Cody Corbell stands on second base during Game 1 of Pasadena's series with the Hadano, Japan ballplayers.

Photo: Courtesy

Photo: Courtesy

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Cody Corbell stands on second base during Game 1 of Pasadena's series with the Hadano, Japan ballplayers.

Cody Corbell stands on second base during Game 1 of Pasadena's series with the Hadano, Japan ballplayers.

Photo: Courtesy

Former players recall when Pasadena opposed Japan in special series

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Until that week in late March 2008, a handful of the city's children only knew that Japan was a country way on the other side of the world, a country they would unlikely see in their lifetime, a country with a culture and customs so different from America's, so different from Pasadena's.

But for that handful of children, they learned on the nights of March 27 and 28 that Japan wasn't entirely different from them. Those were the days that the game of baseball united some of the city's baseball-loving children with a handful of baseball-loving children from Japan in of all places, two Pasadena ballfields.

"I knew it was something super important, especially at that age.

"It was super cool. It was a great time," said Cody Corbell, recalling the two-game series with players from Hadano, Japan, a city 45 miles southwest of Tokyo and Pasadena's sister city.

Until that first pitch was thrown, it just wasn't conceivable to think that a baseball team from Japan would one day be competing against Pasadena kids. That special honor was reserved just for teams that qualified for the famous Little League World Series in Pennsylvania.

But on those two days in late March, the baseball treat to end all baseball treats had arrived in town.

With the American and Japanese flags fluttering in the breeze beyond the outfield fence, Game 1 was played at Spiller Field in Strawberry Park and Game 2 was contested at Gary Field, the field that sits next to PAL Gym.

"For a 12-year-old, it was really awesome. The experience was really cool," said Josh Fonseca, who today is the starting shortstop for the University of Houston-Victoria baseball team, an NAIA school.

Just out of curiosity, the two-game series drew nice crowds, wanting to see what kind of youth baseball was played in Japan. Since Japanese teams are always represented at the Little League World Series, the local fans probably knew the neighborhood boys would be in over their heads.

Holy cow, were they ever.

In the two contests, the city's youngsters collected the grand total of one hit and that was a bunt basehit in the late innings of the second game.

Pitching-wise, the Japanese youngsters just overwhelmed the hometown kids.

"They were just on another level. They were ahead of us by a few years," said Corbell, who today works at MOD Pizza.

No idea

"We had no idea what we were walking into," said Jared Hoesel, the kid responsible for the only hit against the Japanese ballplayers who today is a junior at Texas A&M, pursuing an economics degree.

Hoesel was probably the smallest youngster on the team.

But what he lacked in physical stature, he made up for it in energy and desire.

"Being the smallest kid on the field, I had a chip on my shoulder. You can't take any play off. I had to play hard," Hoesel said.

As for his hit, Hoesel remembers it was his decision, not the coaching staff's to try and bunt his way on.

When he put down a perfect bunt up the third-base line, he nearly received a standing ovation.

Girl pitcher

Among Japan's pitching staff was a girl.

"They had a girl pitcher. She was tough," said assistant coach Brian Corbell.

"She was pretty crafty," Fonseca said.

"She shut us down for the first five innings. No one had any chance against her," Hoesel said.

"Surprisingly, we saw more off-speed pitches. They had a lot more training, a lot more discipline with their pitching. It was pretty amazing watching them and how everything seemed to be in sync," Cody Corbell said.

The festivities didn't end with the contests.

After Game 1, all headed for a Mexican restaurant and after Game 2, a barbecue restaurant on Spencer Highway was the host.

The kids sat at the same long table, numerous baseballs were autographed and exchanged, pictures taken and memories created.

A good memory

"It's a good memory to have. It was definitely an honor to play on that team. Now that I'm older and what we actually did, playing a team from across the world in of all places, Pasadena, Texas," said Corbell.